Where are you going this season (25/26)?

As Jimmy Buffett wrote in song released a week after his death 2 years ago:
"Don’t know where I’m going
Don’t know where I’ve been
All I know for certain is
My gummie just kicked in"
Longer/better version. Song was written about a dinner experience with Paul McCartney's wife.

I'm skiing Mustang Powder for the 7th and possibly last time (3 days snowcat at remote lodge) February 21-23. I plan to make a roadtrip out of it, stopping in Bachelor on way there or back, and Schweitzer, where one of the guys going moved to nearby Ponderay a year ago. I may also stop at Ashland, where I'm now free, and if I want to add some new ski areas Alpental/Snowqualmie, Mission Ridge, Lookout, Williamette Pass, Bluewood, Anthony Lakes, Brundage, Bogus Basin are all possible stops depending on route. I could ski Red Mountain again on way to/from Mustang if I take Shelter Bay ferry route again and plan to ski Revelstoke on Mustang pickup day although the two new SkiTalk guys going want to save their legs. My legs are stronger than my last Mustang trip in 2023 when I had been suffering from Achilles tendinitis on one side, then developed plantar fasciitis on the other. Even though I have not been doing my riding, my wife and I have been training for 76 miles in 6 days on a luxury trip of the Camino de Santiago that starts in a couple weeks. The low day below is when we cleaned cabin and drove home from Tahoe.
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Lucia and I have also booked Banff a month later than Mustang, flying into Calgary on Alaska points, but it is a cancelable trip until a month before. I don't think I could stretch my trip to stay in Canada from not much after mid-February to late March and would not consider driving from San Jose, CA to BC/AB twice in a season, but I probably could leave vehicle near Spokane for a few weeks and fly home, then back with Lucia and drive to Banff from there. My big complication at home is our female White German Shepherd will be 14 next Feb. and has lost most of her hearing and has problems with at least one back foot and we don't have many good options for her care. Plus my Mom will be 96 next May and while my sisters live on her property, they cannot handle everything due to their own health issues.

My bigger plan is to try to get 70 days skiing since I turned 70 a week ago. That would be a 50% increase over the last three years and will be a challenge. I'd likely stay at family So. Tahoe cabin and ski Heavenly and Kirkwood a lot during the week although Lucia does not have a pass for them after not coming close to breaking even last year. We can both ski 5 days at Sierra Tahoe and unlimited (non-holiday) days at Alpine, Palisades and Mammoth on our Base Ikons. My friend with place at Kirkwood is always happy to have me stay there although I'm not sure if he will have to do a ski lease this Winter after replacing main water line that failed last December this Summer. I also have friends in Truckee area I can stay with.
Start :brick:
 
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My plans are far more mundane.

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Yellow stars are areas I have skied, green are to be skied in the next three years.

nyskiblog.com

It's Time to Ski New York

For several years my goal has been to ski every ski area in NY. After Jan 1, this will be a more realistic goal. By my count right now there are 25 lift served areas to be skied (in green). Master Map Updated (3/14/25) - 18 skied to date I don't like the idea of skiing multiple areas in one...
nyskiblog.com nyskiblog.com
 
ChrisC said:
So I was thinking I should swap out the massive Ski Welt area for Silvretta Montafon,
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Absolutely. There is almost nothing above tree line at SkiWelt. Liz described it as 5x (Killington + Sugarbush). Across the valley, Westendorf and KIrschberg/Kitzbuhel have about 1,000 vertical above tree line.

tseeb said:
My bigger plan is to try to get 70 days skiing since I turned 70 a week ago. ........
Start :brick:
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Given the enumerated family issues plus a reluctant skiing spouse, I'm skeptical. With a cheerleading/enabling spouse I have four 70+ day seasons. Three of them (2011, 2017 and 2019) were banner Sierra seasons that started early and ended late. Since Tseeb is even more dependent upon Sierra conditions to maximize ski days than I am, it will take that kind of season to make a 70 day season happen IMHO. Tseeb's current max is 65 days in 2019 (I had 70), but surprisingly he had only 46 days in the very long 2023 season (I had 66).

My 71 day season in 2012 was an anomaly. 7 of them were on the November Antarctic cruise. Despite it being a subpar Sierra season I flew to the PNW to get 4 days in June/July. That was more for extending my month streak to 21 (and joined no surprise on that trip by Patrick) than the day count.
 
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MarzNC said:
I say I've become a "solid advanced" skier. That means advanced, but not expert. I'm skiing terrain I never expected to enjoy when I started skiing more regularly out west with adult friends about 15 years ago. Narrow chutes with rocks are not of interest.
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That's in the ballpark with Liz. That means Liberty is the only comfortable terrain off Lone Peak at Big Sky. I got her down North Snowfields/Rip's once but it took a while in not great visibility.

At CB I needed to curate in advance anything off North Face for Liz. We took one late afternoon run into the Banana/Funnel area. I sent her down something I thought would be wider than the aesthetic run with the big rock wall where jimk and I both posted pics. I was wrong; Liz' run narrowed and I had to send ski patrol there to help her out.

At Bridger Liz liked Schlasman's but the Ridge would be off limits.

MarzNC said:
I've explored Big Sky enough to know where to find leftover good snow.
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Big Sky indeed still has low skier density. But it also has a stratified terrain mix of marginally steep enough for powder on one hand and hair raising DFU terrain off Lone Peak and Headwaters on the other hand.

MarzNC said:
Home2Suites by Hilton in Four Corners
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That's still 43 miles from Big Sky, not fun in a twisty river canyon with snow on the road.
MarzNC said:
I don't plan trips out west with much consideration for snow conditions. Meaning, the dates are set months in advance that work for me and my friends who are interested. We go and enjoy the ski trip, regardless of snow and weather conditions.
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That's the way most people do it, and reasonable if you avoid obvious low percentage scenarios like Taos or CB in January (often inadequate coverage) or Jackson in March. (poor exposure on ungroomed steep terrain).
MarzNC said:
We go and enjoy the ski trip, regardless of snow and weather conditions.
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Aside from extreme examples that where terrain is not open at all or unskiable (see likely cases above) that is the right attitude. If you take destination trips with expectation of powder, you will be an unhappy camper most of the time. I did an extensive analysis of this in 2008. Read this and you will see that the term
MarzNC said:
Planned [months in advance] Powder Chasing Trip experiment
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is usually an oxymoron. I suggest you show your friend that link for realistic expectations.

MarzNC said:
my friend who learned to ski as a young adult while finishing up a Ph.D. She's doesn't have budget constraints, but does have time constraints because of working full-time in the pharmaceutical industry. ........ She reached a level to enjoy deep powder and steeps several years ago.
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This is the profile of someone who should take up snowcat and/or heliskiing, as I did at age 44. Or go to Japan in January, my first post retirement ski trip. My second Japan trip was the one where Liz got enough powder mileage to put powder into her comfort zone. Another way to chase powder is like Powderchaser Steve. You wait until you're within the 3-5 day window that weather forecasts are credible, then buy the plane ticket to where the new snow is. You did not mention where your friend lives. If the time constraints do not preclude taking off just a day or two off on short notice, the economical way to chase powder is to do that within drive distance. That's why 3 of my top 10 lift served powder days are at Mt. Baldy, and why that's a good strategy for many Northeast skiers.
 
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Tony Crocker said:
That's in the ballpark with Liz. That means Liberty is the only comfortable terrain off Lone Peak at Big Sky. I got her down North Snowfields/Rip's once but it took a while in not great visibility.

At CB I needed to curate in advance anything off North Face for Liz. We took one late afternoon run into the Banana/Funnel area. I sent her down something I thought would be wider than the aesthetic run with the big rock wall where jimk and I both posted pics. I was wrong; Liz' run narrowed and I had to send ski patrol there to help her out.

At Bridger Liz liked Schlasman's but the Ridge would be off limits.
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From what I've seen in your trip reports, agree that Liz and I would be compatible ski buddies. Good to know she liked skiing off Schlasman's.

I may be a bit more adventurous, but preferably when being guided by an instructor with 20+ years of experience teaching at a given mountain during a first trip. When I'm at Alta in April, I started doing adventure runs over 15 years ago with people who knew the mountain very well and who'd skied with me, so I'd follow them anywhere. At this point, I regularly go out gates in good snow, and even just to test snow conditions when I know it probably won't be fun yet. Similar situation for Taos, but far fewer powder days since I started going there in 2017, as expected. I've return to Taos fairly often because of the Ski Week and friends who ski there, not the terrain or snow.

A story . . .
In March 2024, Bill was curious about the terrain off International at CB after skiing by the gates on skier's left a few times. After talking to someone we shared a lift with, we decided to give it a try. However, he went in a higher gate that was clearly marked as EX-double black only although he was looking for the single black, which starts lower down. Per usual Bill didn't notice the signage. This was after we'd been skiing for a few days, it was a blue sky day, and I was skiing confidently, so I followed him. We ended up at Peel. No exposed rock to worry about but one side of the narrow section had been sun exposed, so was icy. Bill picked a better entry. Took me a while to get to the shady side. Helped that a few people were skiing down from the summit so I could observed what worked better and what was a bad idea. I took my time but wasn't worried about getting down eventually. We went back to International and found the gate for Hot Rocks but we could see the bumps were pretty big and we were tired so left it for another time.

After we were below the steepest section of Peel, a family of three came through, a father with two young boys. The older boy was no more than 7, and his father was sticking with his younger brother while talking him down an easier line. Was fun watching the older boy bop down the big bumps at speed.

Looking down the last third of the narrow section of Peel, EX, late March 2024
CB Peel EX Mar2025 - 1.jpeg


Peel on the right, narrower section above what could be seen all in the shade by the time we came out shortly after 2pm
CB Peel EX Mar2025 - 2.jpeg


Bill chatting with the boy, who was waiting for his father and younger brother
CB Peel EX Mar2025 - 3.jpeg
 
Tony Crocker said:
Big Sky indeed still has low skier density. But it also has a stratified terrain mix of marginally steep enough for powder on one hand and hair raising DFU terrain off Lone Peak and Headwaters on the other hand.

That's still 43 miles from Big Sky, not fun in a twisty river canyon with snow on the road.
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What I like skiing at Big Sky is trees. Plenty of fun without rocks at Moonlight, off Dakota/Shedhorn, and the steeper section of Andesite Mtn. The blue/black bump runs are of interest too.

Having done the drive from Big Sky to Bridger for a couple day trips during a Gathering, driving from Four Corners to Big Sky for a few day trips is not an issue. The price differential between staying there are anywhere within 10 miles of Big Sky isn't worth it. Besides, if the snow is better at Bridger, we could go there instead. Or drive from Bozeman to Big Sky after we change lodging.

Staying in Lake Placid and driving for a day trip to Gore, or vice-versa is a similar situation. I did ski safari in New England while based in Lincoln, near Loon. The 2-lane roads in VT/NH are often narrower and have more sharp mountain curves than the roads between Big Sky and Bozeman. Back then, I was driving an old 2WD minivan with regular tires.
 
Slightly edited to add in the embedded quote.
Tony Crocker said:
Aside from extreme examples that where terrain is not open at all or unskiable (see likely cases above) that is the right attitude. If you take destination trips with expectation of powder, you will be an unhappy camper most of the time. I did an extensive analysis of this in 2008. Read this and you will see that the term "Planned [months in advance] Powder Chasing Trip" is usually an oxymoron. I suggest you show your friend that link for realistic expectations.

This is the profile of someone who should take up snowcat and/or heliskiing, as I did at age 44. Or go to Japan in January, my first post retirement ski trip. My second Japan trip was the one where Liz got enough powder mileage to put powder into her comfort zone. Another way to chase powder is like Powderchaser Steve. You wait until you're within the 3-5 day window that weather forecasts are credible, then buy the plane ticket to where the new snow is. You did not mention where your friend lives. If the time constraints do not preclude taking off just a day or two off on short notice, the economical way to chase powder is to do that within drive distance. That's why 3 of my top 10 lift served powder days are at Mt. Baldy, and why that's a good strategy for many Northeast skiers.
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As I noted, the idea of a Planned Powder Chasing trip is an experiment. We considered several potential destinations to pair with CB. I think my friend chose Big Sky/Bridger partially because she's never been there. I'm sure she and I would have a good time since I know both places reasonably well. I know what terrain is fun for her and what's too scary without an instructor. Unlike some of my ski buddies, I'm a good navigator. If she opts to cancel completely because it's a low snow season in general by late January, I'll join Bill at CB anyway.

She's way ahead of you for heli-skiing. Went heli-skiing the year she turned 30. That was before she had much experience in deep powder besides a day at PowMow in 2014. Pretty sure she went heli-skiing again, or planned to, to celebrate turning 40 Has found a place her non-skiing husband is willing to go for a week or two that often has good snow at the times they go. For a while, they could both do WFH for 2-3 weeks at a time. He still can. A bit more difficult for her these days as working in R&D in big pharma evolves.

She and I are both Ph.D. researchers. We found your website years ago. Very useful as we started planning multiple ski trips a season. :)

I rarely bother to look at weather and snow reports for my ski trip destinations until a couple weeks beforehand. For me, OpenSnow provides more than enough weather info.

What I'm more concerned at checking daily as a departure date approaches is the weather forecast for the airport where I have to change planes. I have the flexibility to change my flight date if needed. Ironically the flight that was messed up the most went through Texas, not Denver or Chicago. I usually change at MDW since I fly Southwest from RDU. That was for a trip to Taos when out of a dozen friends who flew, the only one who wasn't impacted by the weather was the one who lives in southern California. We had nine people sharing three rental cars to get from ABQ to Taos/TSV. Everyone ended up with a ride, but few were with the driver/renter that they planned on and no one arrived at the expected time/day. I left home before my planned departure date, but not early enough.
 
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Tony Crocker said:
Absolutely. There is almost nothing above tree line at SkiWelt. Liz described it as 5x (Killington + Sugarbush). Across the valley, Westendorf and KIrschberg/Kitzbuhel have about 1,000 vertical above tree line.
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Yes, it appears that Silvretta Montafon is located in a high-snowfall region compared to SkiWelt.



Re: Epic Pass Use in the Arlberg (St. Anton/Lech/Zurs)

Austria | Epic Season Pass

www.epicpass.com www.epicpass.com

What a joke and a non-benefit! :mad::((n)

Epic Pass, Epic Australia Pass, and Lifetime Pass Holders receive three consecutive days of skiing and riding at Arlberg ski resorts when they stay a minimum of three consecutive nights at a participating Arlberg resort lodging property. This offer is valid once per winter season, only when lodging is booked directly through a participating hotel website. View the list of participating lodging properties and booking links in the FAQs below.​
​
This is not at all like the St. Moritz $35/day ticket, which applies if you stay anywhere in the valley and purchase lift passes from your lodge.

Instead, Vail/Epic's partner hotels are few, upscale, and expensive, and are heavily concentrated in Lech. Average nightly stays are 300-1500 Euros per night.

Furthermore, almost all lodging partners have stay requirements of typically one week, and the shortest I found was four nights, even during the low season in January.

Sure, if you are spending a few $1k's - easily - at some upscale property, it's very easy to kick in a free 3-day lift pass. Heck, you may be able to find passes and meals in another package.

Essentially, the Epic Pass does not work in the Arlberg and should not even be listed on the ski partner page! It's deceptive and complete bullsh-t! Epic did not really have any Austrian ski partners until the Spring announcements.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Liz described it as 5x (Killington + Sugarbush). Across the valley, Westendorf and KIrschberg/Kitzbuhel have about 1,000 vertical above tree line.
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Liz's description is accurate; however, we were there a) 22 years ago, b) in our third season of downhill skiing, c) during the third week of March, and d) didn't know about the conventional wisdom of sticking to higher elevations at that point of the year. Fortunately, we got lucky with nice spring cover and no slop even toward the bottom.

The sense of travel across long distances, many high-speed lifts, tons of elbow room, and multitude of atmospheric huts with good food was so different from what we'd experienced in North America to that point that we raved about our eight days there. A great place for lower intermediates and intermediates! The Ski Welt is absolutely not a ChrisC area and I could already write the script for his comments. :eusa-whistle:

ChrisC said:
I was thinking I should swap out the massive Ski Welt area for Silvretta Montafon, and max out my Epic Pass resorts. It also seems like a resort with the potential for better powder - part of the Voralberg powder triangle.
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I liked Silvretta Montafon and concur with the Powderhounds review. In addition to my report, jnelly posted a few pix from his recent visit.

ChrisC said:
not at all like the St. Moritz $35/day ticket, which applies if you stay anywhere in the valley and purchase lift passes from your lodge.
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37 CHF was the price when I was there in 2019 at an advantageous 1:1 exchange rate. I checked and the discounted Sleep + Ski lift tix now are 47 CHF, which is $59 at the current rate so not quite the crazy deal it was back then but still a great value compared to the U.S. for a region of that quality.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
A great place for lower intermediates and intermediates! The Ski Welt is absolutely not a ChrisC area and I could already write the script for his comments.
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I think I will get enough piste cruising and advanced lifts at Kitzbuhel and Saalbach.
  • Kitzbühel is historic and will miss the Hahnenkamm (Jan 21-25); thankfully, the Streif Downhill will be open to the public again, and lodging will be less punitive. There are some alpine areas, including Pass Thurn and the summit of Kitzbühel. Potentially off-piste in the valley between the two.
  • Saalbach has a tour called "The Challenge" (Link) that touches all sectors of the mountain (65 kilometres, 32 lifts, 12,400 meters in height, and approx. 7 hours of skiing time)
  • Also, Fieberbrunn is a regular stop on the Freeride World Tour (2026 season FWT events: Baqueira Beret, Val Thorens, Georgia, Fieberbrunn, and Xtreme Verbier), so there should be time to take a run or two in the vicinity. Additionally, the Fieberbrunn entry into the Circus is only about 20 minutes or so from Kitzbühel, so as long as you make it back to that sector, no crazy $$ cab rides.
  • 1757894047422.png
jamesdeluxe said:
A great place for lower intermediates and intermediates! The Ski Welt is absolutely not a ChrisC area and I could already write the script for his comments. :eusa-whistle:
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I want to limit the number of days on potentially icy pistes, regardless of the ski domain's size. And I'd rather ski pistes overlooking the lake, on which Zell am See/Schmitten is located—a combination of Hallstatt and Tahoe.

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And there is a glacier next door to Zell am See on the Kitzsteinhorn.
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jamesdeluxe said:
I liked Silvretta Montafon and concur with the Powderhounds review. In addition to my report, jnelly posted a few pix from his recent visit.
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Liked jnelly's review. It appears that there is potential for decent snow, and some itineraries are marked on the map. Your Madrisa Tour looked interesting; I haven't seen many day tours marketed like this. I'm a bit clunky with my AT Gear since I don't use it very often.

jamesdeluxe said:
I checked and the discounted Sleep + Ski lift tix now are 47 CHF, which is $59 at the current rate so not quite the crazy deal it was back then but still a great value compared to the U.S. for a region of that quality.
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I do not think many US skiers would believe you if you told them that for $330 a day at Vail/Beaver Creek/Deer Valley/etc ($330-350/day), you could ski for a week in St. Moritz (5.5 days). 1 Day Vail = 1 Week St. Moritz - that's 'Epic'.

BTW: And I don't think 50% off for a friend is going to solve any of Vail's problems...
 
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